Code: Hundred Year War
by PsOhKiEpMpOeNr9
Summary: An assignment Ulrich wants to do. Surprising, isn't it? He looks up an ancestor named Ulfrid Stern, a mercenary from the Holy Roman Empire, or at least that's what his father told him. But when he gets a journal written by him, he finds out something interesting about him and the entire war. The textbooks will only tell you so much.
1. The Book

**Update: I forgot that Prussia wasn't yet a country, but I instead hinted at early nationalism from the people that lived in what was the Holy Roman Empire.**

Chapter 1: The Book

"And that is the assignment." The 9th grade Social Studies professor said. The bell rang; followed by about 20 both excited and partially irritated kids. As they began to file out, he yelled over their voices. "It'll be due in 2 weeks!"

Amongst those excited was Ulrich Stern. The assignment was fairly straight forward, the goal being to research your family tree, then give a detailed report on the ancestor of your choice. The family tree either had to start on them, or include them. A smile dashed across his face as he headed outside for lunch. Even better, with X.A.N.A. defeated and William returned; he could actually give the extra time to working on this assignment. His cargo pants swished with each step as he made his way outside. A slight breeze blew his green jacket around along with his messenger bag hanging off his left shoulder. His brown hair was the same shade as his shirt.

As he entered the building, he already his idea hatched up in his mind. He would wait and ask the others before revealing his plans. He slid his tray across the metal rack and smiled widely at the lunch lady. "Wow. You're definitely excited about something." She said.

"Just a good day." Ulrich answered as he continued move along. She haphazardly slapped a scoop of mashed potatoes along with a slab of very well done meatloaf on his tray. Ulrich didn't even mind the horrid stench of burnt meat. Walking towards the back, he joined his friends in their usual spot. He sat down across from Odd and next to Yumi. Odd looked at him and winked. Not even that bothered him today. William, sitting on the other side of Yumi, shot Odd a death glare.

Only his Capri style jeans and red moccasin style shoes complemented Odd's outrageous purple hoodie.

Yumi wore black pants with a black, long sleeve belly shirt. Her hair was straight and cascaded down her shoulders. She also wore the black boots she had always been known for wearing.

William's erratic dark hair matched his personality well. His brown jacket and black shirt clashed with his blue jeans and brown hiking boots.

Aelita donned a pink hoodie with lighter pink puffballs on the end. Her interesting hair color even matched her pink skirt that stuck out from underneath and her pink shoes.

Jeremy's blonde hair almost as pale as his skin, while his black-rimmed glasses only added to the discoloration of his face. He wore a red shirt with greyish green pants and also wore moccasin style shoes. His were blue though.

Jeremy looked at him confused. "Are you alright Ulrich? You've just been smiling this whole time." The others nodded in agreement, as if he had become sick and maybe contagious.

"You know that family history assignment in social studies?" The others nodded, having received the same project.

"Yeah, I remember doing that last year." Yumi said as she stabbed her fork into the meatloaf, which promptly wiggled in the air with meat left unmoving. "The only problem was that X.A.N.A. used my family's suit of armor to attack us."

Aelita gave him with a confused look. "Why are you so excited?"

Odd joined in. "Yeah, I thought you didn't do schoolwork."

"Normally, I wouldn't really try," Ulrich answered. "But I'm ready for this assignment. My father used to tell me stories of a great mercenary who lived in the Hundred Year War period. His name was Ulfrid Stern. He was a hero of French; often joining their side and defending those that couldn't defend themselves."

"And how would you know what he tells you isn't just fairy tales?" Jeremy asked.

"Firstly, my dad doesn't joke around when it comes to anything academic. Secondly, and more reassuringly, Ulfrid kept a journal about his life that his son even added onto after his death. I'm going to call him to give me the book. They're might even be a list of family members in the front or back.

William then chimed in; "Some families did that back then, especially when the Black Plague hit. They recorded names so that family members wouldn't be forgotten. That and the priests ordered them to. In the Medieval ages, the words of the preachers were law."

Ulrich leaned back in his chair, content with himself. "So any ideas who you guys are gonna do?"

The rest of the group shook their heads.

Aelita tapped her finger against her forehead. "Well, I was thinking about seeing if any of my ancestors were mentioned in you're guys' research, then I'd go from there."

**Later that evening… **Ulrich sat on his bed, cellphone in hand. He punched in his family's number. He placed it against his ear as he heard it ring in the background. "Hello?" Odd sat across the room, bouncing Kiwi's ball off the ground, making him jump into the air after it.

"No I didn't call to say I got an A. Wait! Don't hang up!" Odd glanced at him weirdly. His father must have answered. "I can get a good grade if you send me that journal you always told me about."

There was a pause, then a smile shot across his face. "You can? Thank you so much! I promise you, this project is gonna be great."

Another slight pause, followed by, "Alright, I'll see ya later dad." He brought the phone down and hung up. Looking back up, he saw Odd had already changed into his red shirt and boxers. Kiwi was tucked away in the drawer and his ball, although covered in saliva, was neatly tucked in the drawer with him.

"So you gonna get that book or what?" Odd asked and he leaned back and left the covers at the end. He placed his arms behind his head and stretched out.

"In a couple days, you'll see what I mean." Ulrich said as he changed into a white A shirt and boxers. He turned off the lights and sat on his bed.

As Odd's eyes drifted close, he said, "I hope this isn't a big let down."

Ulrich the stretched out and collapsed on his bed. "Trust me. Everything's gonna turn out fine."

**Two days later... **Sitting at lunch, Ulrich heard the door to the cafeteria open, then close. Turning his head, he saw Jim with several envelopes and a couple packages. "Mail call!" He called out. The kids immediately quieted, hoping they were one of the lucky ones to get a letter, or even better, one of the two packages. Jim made his way from table to table, handing out several letters. As he passed the gang's table, he passed out a plain letter to Jeremy, a postcard of a beach and tropical trees to William, and the two packages to Odd and Ulrich. Odd's box was rather large with masking tape over the flaps. Ulrich's was more or less the same, except his had the phrase handle with care slapped all over the box, and it looked as if the mailmen had actually taken the time to be careful with it. Also, it was 2 feet long.

Several kids moaned in disappointment as he continued handing out letters and postcards to the rest. Jeremy opened his letter. "What's this?" He said as something shiny slipped out of the envelope. It was a pair of heart shaped lockets, one with a J etched into the gold heart, and the other had an A. He took the small letter out and began to read it. "Dear Jeremy. Just wanted to say hi. Hope everything's going well. You're making a lot of friends this year, and I hope it keeps up. P.S., we remembered seeing how you looked at that Aelita girl during Christmas break and thought…" Jeremy's voice trailed off as he blushed as red as a beet. Aelita grabbed the one with an A on it and lifted it up to her face.

"I think that's sweet of them." She said as she put her around her neck and tucked it into her hoodie. Jeremy quickly swiped his up and slapped it into his pocket. Leering at all of them, he said, "You didn't hear the last part or see anything."

Odd leaned back, saying, "Not quite true, Einstein. I'm sure word will get out." He gave a suspicious look. "It always does."

"You tell anyone and no homework privileges for a month." Jeremy said as he pushed his glasses up to his face. Odd immediately tipped back forward, not saying another word or showing intention of doing so later.

William flipped the postcard over. "Having a good time in the Caribbean, wish you could be here." He then flipped it back over and tossed it across the room. It spun horizontally like a falling feather until it landed in the trashcan. He leaned back and kicked a leg up onto the table.

Odd immediately tore into his package, pulling out a large rope with a tag attached to it. "Mint scented to make any dog's breath like you brushed them yourself." Odd immediately dropped it back into the box. The group laughed. William even fell forward from laughing, banging his head on the table. "Really? Nothing for me? Again?" Odd said as he dug through the packing peanuts. Then he felt something. Pulling it out, he saw it was a sky blue 3DS with a game packaged with it. Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" He said as he hugged the box.

Ulrich carefully pulled the flaps up. Amongst the packing peanuts sat a book, but it wasn't nearly long enough. It was a simple book, design made of dark blue leather with a gold ribbon attached to the inside as a bookmark. The front read in gold imprinted letters. "The Journal of Ulfrid Stern." The edges of the pages were lined with silver colored ribbon. It only was tall enough to reach 9 inches back. Reaching his hand further into the peanuts, his hand touched something rough.

He pulled out, only slightly, a heavy, leather scabbard with an elaborate silver patterns running up and down it. Rubies sat welded on either side of the top of the scabbard. The hilt of the sword had black leather around it for a tight grip. The very end had silver eagle's talons grappling a large ruby the size of Ulrich's palm. The room fell silent except for a few gasps and seats shifting. The wider piece touching the scabbard was constructed of well-kept steel that shone in the light. Pulling it out slightly, he could see what looked like dragon fire forged onto the wide side of the sword. It pointed out straight, and was still sharp. Looking closer at the wide piece, he saw it was built to loosely resemble a dragon's mouth.

William was the first to gain control of himself. "Dude, that blade is sick." Murmurs of assent rolled over the lunchroom.

Yumi marveled at the rubies while Odd yelled, "Where is this even from?"

"It was Ulfrid's" Ulrich answered simply.

"It is over 600 years old." Jeremy said, again nudging his glasses up.

Aelita looked at the sword as Ulrich buried it back under the peanuts. "Is it a replica? The real thing wouldn't be in that kind of condition."

Ulrich looked up. "With some love, care, and vacuum packaging, it's lasted a long while. For generations, it was kept polished, chip free, and then placed in an airless container once we had the technology to keep it from rusting. That and this is only one of his weapons. He was a man at arms, the most elite of elite. He was a master of the sword, capable of using two in battle with ease. Like me." Ulrich said, referencing the days of Lyoko.

"I have to hear about this." Odd said as he took his box off the table and tucked it under an arm. Ulrich pulled the book out and closed the box.

"I just need to take this to my room, and I can read it outside. Or we could meet at the factory later and read it.

Jeremy was about to speak when Odd blurted out, "I need to hear about this now!" The others nodded in agreement.

"Alright then, it's settled." Ulrich said as he got up. He quickly sprinted off towards his dorm. He needed to put the box where no one would find it. Entering his shared dorm, he immediately got the perfect idea. A place no one would look. He opened Odd's closet door, shoved the box in and closed the door before the clutter could pour out. By the time he got outside, the others were gathered around a bench in the shade. Ulrich walked over and sat on the bench between Odd and Yumi.

His hand delicately pulled back the leather cover. The next page showed who was writing the book. "As written by Ulfrid Stern." Underneath, it read, "Final chapters by his son, Frederick Stern."

Next page.

"Prologue, My childhood was a trail of seeing good in the bad. My parents were of the peasant class, and when they had me, they couldn't afford their home any longer. They petitioned the property landlord, led by a very wealthy aristocrat. He offered that my parents would work in his manor as servants to pay off what was left of the money they owed on their shack. They thankfully agreed. This is where my journey to the military began. Being an only child, I quickly found myself bored through the days, being too young to work myself. Then I met my lifelong friend.

I was 4 when it occurred. I had been wandering through the manor, exploring as I did most days. That was when I came across the young master. He had been in a study session, and had just been released. I gazed down the hall as the door opened. Stepping out was the young master, which I didn't know at that distance. He smiled wide and approached me. We were of the same age. He wore purple trousers with black velvet shoes and high white socks. His shirt was a small white blouse. I had donned my normal attire of loose browning tunics with sandals and ragged pants. His hair was well kept, part slightly to the right, hair smoothed out. It was a dark jet black. Mine was messy and plain brown.

He ran up to me and waved. His voice was light and happy. 'Hi! What's your name?' he asked.

Nervously, I answered, 'I'm Ulfrid.' I knew that he was rich and me a peasant. I wasn't sure how his father would react if he knew I talked to his son like it was nothing, but he seemed really excited.

'Hi! My name's William, but the other workers call me young master.' He answered-"

William abruptly interrupted. "Whoa wait, I'm an aristocrat?"

Jeremy looked at him. "It's just the first name, I'm sure there's no connection. Those chances are astronomically unlikely."

Ulrich cleared his throat, regaining their attention. "Anyway, he ran off towards the door to the front gardens. I simply stood there, until he said, 'Come on! I want someone to play with.' At that sound, I joined him in a race for the outdoors. We passed several other workers, all who bowed and said something like, "Greetings young master." The two of us must have looked so happy, as no servant looked at me as if it was wrong.

When the doors opened to the front gardens, my heart was brought back to life. It felt like it had been dead the whole time I was inside. I never did like to hole myself in the manor. I often tried to help with gardening whenever I could. Flowers of entire rainbow were dotted throughout the property. A hedge wall wrapped around the whole premise. We joyfully strode through the front lawn, taking in the beauty of nature. Finding a stone bench next to a patch of Pansies and Chrysanthemums. The morning dew glittered off the velvet like petals.

The young master sat on the bench, legs dangling through the air as they weren't long enough. Mine were the same, except they reached a few inches further. He swept a few stray hairs out of his face and smiled. "Isn't this place beautiful?" He asked me while he still looked at me.

"Yeah." I answered. "I wonder what the rest of the world looks like." I said with a curious tone in my voice.

"There is a free way to find out." The young master looked at me now with a partially serious look. "We can join the military when we grow up."

"Why would you worry about it being free? You can go anywhere you want to." I said, scratching the back of my head. He placed a hand of my shoulder.

"Because I want to go where you go." He said. He looked at me sincerely. It was as if a mutual bond built between us in the background while we got to know each other. At that time, however, a voice echoed through the entire garden.

"William! How dare you defy me?!" His father screamed from the front door. We both turned around to meet the glare from his father. He swiftly trudged across the garden, grabbing William by the had sternly, causing him to wince. His other had swiftly slapped his cheek, then grabbed me by the hair. In one swift jerk, I was off my feet and following them into the manor. He led the two of us through the house, the young master's eyes filled with tears and terror. Mine watered but I didn't cry. I had grown used to physical pain and treatment like this.

As we reached the kitchen, I quickly saw my parents' eyes widen in surprise. The landlord growled through his gritted teeth, "Follow me. Now." My parents turned to the other workers and bowed, then followed the landlord into the hallway. He looked straight at my father. "I just caught your grub of a son with my civilized prodigy. Give me one reason I shouldn't throw you out on the street right now."

My father stammered slightly, then said, "I am your head cook, sir."

"I can get another." He said as he reached under his coat. He whipped out a flexible, short stick. He cracked it once in the air.

As the Landlord stared down my father, William spoke up courageously, "Because I like him." His father froze up, then slowly turned his head.

Their gazes locked onto one another. "You actually like that slob?" The young master nodded. "Fine. But you either clean him up, or you don't go outside together." He turned on his heel and walked away. As he brushed past me, he flicked his wrist, slapping my bare arm and making me jump. From there, we went into his room, and he helped me change clothes as well as do my hair.

Since then, we grew closer together over the years. At the age of 13, we both picked up fighting, so we could enlist in the military and serve The Holy Roman Empire militia, a secret force that began to build up to serve what use to be the German barbarian camps. A land once held by proud people that toppled the Romans, only to be controlled by them later. That same year, I also dabbled in the art of weapon crafting. Also in that year, our friendship turned to rivalry over a girl. We met a girl named Elizabeth. She was of the merchant class, fitting between us. We met her one day while I was getting supplies to craft my weapons while William went to buy one.

As we approached the stand, her father stepped up and she watched the both of us intently. Over the years, people not only recognized Young Master Dunbar, but I as well."

William jumped up. "I knew it!"

Odd looked up at him. "Calm yourself William. There must be an explanation."

Ulrich looked among the group, all of whom were surprised at the revelation. In a past life, the two of them had actually been friends. Looking back at the book, he continued. "Her face was done up with powder, and she wore a dark green dress with gold lining along the front and white, silk gloves imported from Asia. She smiled warmly at the both of us. She mouthed the words, 'meet me around back and pointed to the alley way next to the stand. My head bobbed lightly.

I had noticed as we grew up, that William was liked mostly for his money. He was half a head shorter than me, paler, and frankly not as handsome as I had grown into. It was hard to tell who she was talking to. As her father asked me what I wanted, I pointed to a string of leather dyed black, 4 steel ingots, two ingots of silver, and six rubies. Two were large enough to fit in my palm individually, 4 were smaller. William paid for the equipment. I was getting ready to finish my Blacksmith apprenticing today by constructing personal weapons for myself.

He picked out a 5'11" reinforced bamboo stick, which stood 2 inches over him. It was designed to flex without breaking. He also picked up a steel ingot, along with a string of softer, more expensive, black leather. Also, he picked up a gold ingot and a large sapphire large enough to compare to a chicken's egg. After handing over a stack of gold, the vendor asked, "What do you plan to do with all that?"

"I'm finishing my smith training and then I'm going to craft him something as well." I answered as William grabbed the bag of jewels. I took the one of the ingots and leather. He carried his stick as we walked down the alley. The girl opened a side door and stepped out. She looked up at me, then eye level with William.

"My name is Elizabeth Giovanni." She looked at the young master first. "You would be Master William," then to me. "And you, Ulfrid, his loyal friend." I nodded, as did William.

"Where are you from?" William asked. We had started taking classes together as well, becoming educated of the world and its wonders. I knew where she was from based on her name.

"My family hails from the Italy and Rome regions, but we moved out here to be closer to the war front. Most of our goods are weapon related, so it made sense to go where they are needed." As she said this, she looked seductively at the both of us. She rarely made eye contact with either of us. She instead preferred to vaguely look at us. "I hope to see the two of you another day. It was good to meet you." She curtsied, then went back into her home. The two of us turned to each other and headed for the local Smith.

Walking down to the street, the sound of metal clashing, water searing, and the smoke rose in the distance. "She seemed nice." I started.

"Yeah, fitting for someone in a high position like myself." William said.

"What makes you think she liked you?" I asked, looking down at him. "She seemed more interested in my looks than your height."

William turned red with embarrassment and irritation. "Short jokes aren't funny!" He whisper yelled. "And besides, she was far too sophisticated for you." He said.

Ever since then, whenever Elizabeth was involved, we turned from close friends, to even closer rivals. But she never seemed to take a specific interest in either one of us. Always vague and mysterious between who she adored more, forcing us to compete for her attention.

Anyway, I arrived at the Smith, who promptly nodded at me. "Show me what you've learned." He said swiftly. I took the equipment from my bag and immediately took out the 4 ingots and began to temper two of them in the fire. Grabbing my gloves and a hammer, I pulled them out onto and hammer and smashed them together, then returned it to the flame. I did this several times, William looking on in aspiration. About 30 minutes later, I pulled out a two foot long steel blade, as well as a 1.5 foot long blade.

Then, I began the annealing process, wrapping the dull mass in several thick rags. Following that, I grabbed a pair of pre annealed blades, one two feet, the other 1.5. Walking to the nearest grindstone, I quickly began to sharpen the two blades until my well trained eye noted it being done. Then I turned both sideways and engraved a fire pattern into side of both blades on both sides. I would take a brush to them later.

Taking them straight off the stone, I stabbed them deep into the coals, causing them to rise in temperature rapidly, then placed them in cool water to harden it.

I did this again, except at a lower temperature to make the blades strong, but not brittle. Between tempering, I worked on the scabbards, crafting the silver elegantly into them both, along with a pair of rubies in each near the top.

Pulling it from the water, for the last time, I found my blades were flexible, yet strong, I carefully wrapped the handle in black leather and started adding the silver.. I fashioned it into an eagle's talon, placing the ruby in both midway. Quickly after preparing the handle, I moved onto the guard. I carefully, yet precisely crafted it into what looked like a dragon's maw, then painted on the red and orange in the engraved patterned.

When I was done, I had two straight swords, one longer than the other. I slapped the larger one on the right side of my belt, and the smaller on my left. The Blacksmith walked up to me. He placed a hand on my shoulder, then said, "You have come far over this time. But now, you are ready to teach others."

William took a few steps forward, then asked me, "Can you make me a spear?"

I nodded. Taking out the steel ingot, I handed it to the Blacksmith. "Here's a replacement for a new spearhead to craft." He grabbed it and nodded. Turning his head around, he pointed to a wall of spearheads of different size. William walked over and began scanning over them. I thought I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. I glanced back, catching a glimpse of green whipping back around a corner. "Elizabeth, come on over." I called to the corner.

She stepped from behind and approached us. "How are you doing?" She asked me.

"Fine, just passed my Blacksmith assessment." Looking back, I saw William pick up a spearhead of six inches. He handed it to me.

"I'd like something like this." He said as he traced out a design with his finger. It was elaborate design of curves that formed into a bubbling mass of raging flames. I took it to the grindstone and began to sharpen it, as well as etch the pattern. After it was complete and the blade finished, I notched the staff and slapped the head onto it. Taking a hammer and pick, I spliced the sapphire in two. One half went on the end, gold holding it on, shaped into flames.

While I worked, I heard William and Elizabeth talk it up behind me. Their conversation constantly drifted between him and my Smith work. She was an unpredictable character. The other sapphire was hollowed and attached between the head and staff. The rest of the gold was lined up and down the staff to add resilience to it.

"Catch." I said as I tossed the newly crafted weapon at him. He turned slightly and caught it with one hand and kept talking with Elizabeth. I took my swords and began to trudge across the smith. Tapping him on the back with the wide side of my longer sword, he whipped around quickly.

"Oh, hey there." He said as Elizabeth started walking around to face me.

"Yeah, hey. I thought we were gonna start training." I said as she gave me a smile. It was difficult to judge what kind of emotion went with it.

"Where are you gonna train?" She asked as I-" The bell exploded in sound behind the group.

"Oh man, we're late for class!" Jeremy said as he jumped up. The group began to disperse. Ulrich called out to the others.

"So we're gonna meet up at the factory later, right?" The others either nodded or called out in agreement. "This book is amazing. I just hope I get to the war soon."


	2. The Tragedy

Chapter 2: The Tragedy

Ulrich quickly ate supper and prepared to head for the factory. The rest followed, excited to see what would happen next. Ulrich led the group out into the woods. It had nearly been a year since they went down there last, but Ulrich remembered the path well. The woods gave off the beautiful scent of fall, and they could hear the chattering of squirrels storing up for the winter. The trees had turned elegant shades of yellow, orange, red, and few even that deep purple.

Odd carried the book while Ulrich approached the entrance. The old manhole was harder to lift than Ulrich remembered, but he put it aside, allowing the group to enter first. Following them, memories of being chased through the sewers by bees and birds flashed through his mind. They had long ago removed their skate boards and scooters from the halls, expecting to never have to return. The walk actually wasn't that long. It gave him time to ask questions about the book to himself. _Why did dad lie and say he was a mercenary? What else was he hiding from me? _It seemed small enough that he let it go earlier, however he had this sudden surge of curiosity.

By the time he again dismissed the thought to the back of his mind, they had already reached the other end. Ulrich went ahead and climbed first, slowly nudged the lid off the ground. Sliding it away, he stood upon the bridge that had held so many fights and interrogations. He remembered the birds, the dog bots, the bikers, and even the demolition expert X.A.N.A. had possessed.

The rest followed, making sure to stay quiet. As they entered the factory, they saw that Yumi was already waiting for them on the floor below them. The group slid down the ropes and approached her. The vast open space allowed every footstep to echo. The old musty odor wafted through the room. It was strong enough to leave a stale taste in his mouth. Everything looked run down, more than usual. They got into the elevator and rode down to the monitor room, for extra privacy.

Ulrich walked over and sat in the beige chair. Jeremy squinted his eyes before saying, "Hey, that's my spot!"

"It was." Ulrich responded with as he opened the book to the ribbon. "But I'm the one reading, so I get the comfy chair." No one argued that point. Jeremy had no authority in here, not anymore. Ulrich cleared his throat before continuing. "'We train in the gardens of Master William's home.' I answered.

She then turned to William. 'May I join you?' She asked politely.

'Sure. It's our first day, you should find some entertainment.' He said this looking past her shoulder and at me. She could tell and giggled lightly. When we arrived, our trainer looked at us with a bewildered face.

'Why did you bring those?' He asked.

'To train with?' William answered questionably. The trainer broke down laughing.

'You cannot start on something like that. You'll kill each other, or yourselves.' He took a few steps, then pulled out a rack from behind a hedge. It was covered with wooded rods shaped into our weapons of choice. 'You'll use these for now. When I'm convinced you can keep from finishing each other, you'll use these.' I sheathed both my swords. Pulling them off my belt, I placed them gently on the ground. William speared his spear into the dirt, splicing a leaf on one of the hedges.

Our trainer tossed us the wooden rods. Mine were the same length, as my other swords, except rounded off. His was a staff with a smoothed off triangular head. We moved into a clearing. It was a stone paved circle with a fountain in the middle. An angel stood in the middle, standing tall with a harp in its hands. Water shot from the mouth of the angel and from the front tip of the harp. Elizabeth walked over and sat on a stone bench that sat in front of a hedge and was pointed towards the fountain.

I raised my left arm above the other, pointing them both at William. He took a half step back and his spear fell forward, pointed towards my head. Our trainer then spoke up. 'Lesson 1. Defense. You can learn to attack based on your enemy while defending, but learning defense off your enemy is much harder. You must know to defend yourself before you attack.' His gaze shifted towards William. 'You'll defend first. When you think you're ready, try to strike me.' He whipped out a wooden staff from behind his back. It was red oak gilded with gold up and down the sides.

He leapt into the air, head over heels, landing atop the statue. He jumped down, bearing the staff over his head. William spun his spear horizontal and held it up. The two weapons clashed, William pushed back a few feet. The trainer continued forward, twirling about with his spear. William countered several times, but still looked worried, and was stepping back. The trainer jabbed at him, and he reached out to block. The trainer feigned the move, instead pulling back, lowering his weapon, and at lightning speed, whipped it up to his extended weapon. The spear flew from his hands. Temporarily distracted, William was too late to lift his arms up to block. The staff already jabbed him in the chest, sending him off his feet and into the hedge behind him. William groaned. 'As is to be expected on your first session.' Elizabeth giggled in the background.

Without warning, he turned to me and started darting around the fountain. As he approached, I twirled clockwise with both swords above my left shoulder. Our staffs collided as I finished. We both stepped back once. He swung wide. My right sword caught his staff, and I ducked under it. As he lifted it up, I charged. He was much quicker than I expected though, already bringing it down. I jumped back out of range. In one hand, he brought it over his left shoulder, then down towards me. With my swords crossed, I was forced down to one knee. I slashed them away, forcing the staff into the air. Ducking to the left, I then jumped forward. As his staff came back to his right, I blocked it with one sword, the other striking the inside of his calf. He was swept onto his back. Instinctively, I twirled and dropped onto his gut with my elbow.

I got up, then helped him up. With the wind still out of him, he gasped out, 'Great effort Stern. Lesson Two. Attacking. Now you both know to defend. One will defend while the other attacks. Ulfrid's already shown great effort, so William, you'll try to strike Ulfrid.' William looked at me, and I smiled back. It twirled my blades in my hands and stopped with them crossed.

William silently charged forward, eyes glaring into mine. He started to stab low. I swept one sword low to counter, but he instead stabbed into the ground and pole vaulted over me. Landing behind me, he quickly spun around to slash, but I twisted back and blocked. He was a quick learner, but I had spent a few years wrestling with my father. Not weapon to weapon, but still experience in fighting. He continued swinging and twirling, each attack, I blocked with ease. Untrained blocks deflect untrained strikes. Then, at my surprise, his weapon came up, knocking mine from my hand. Using a similar tactic as our trainer, except I was still focused. He tried to stab, but I shrugged it off with my other sword. Before he could strike again, my other blade fell into my hand. He twisted around and swung with the other end. Swept off my feet, I quickly began to crawl back up, but his spearhead was already pointed at my nose, only a few inches away.

Elizabeth applauded in the background as our trainer called out, 'Great restraint William.' William lowered his weapon. I rolled back on my shoulders, then popped forward, landing on my feet. 'Lesson Three. Final one for today. Disarming your opponent is an art that is hard to learn, impossible to master. Both of you will attack at once, then we'll focus on the loser.'

We both got into our ready positions, then started for each other. William point out to make me stop, but instead, I crossed my blades and forced it to the ground. He pulled it out, then slashed towards me. I pushed it into the air, then charged for him. He swung down and across as he stepped back. My left sword broke his attack, while my right swept under to my left. His spear started to fall, but in a flash, my other sword slammed into the staff, sending it flying from his hands. 'Good job.' He looked at William and nodded. He quickly ran over and retrieved his staff from a hedge.

We both dipped our heads slightly, then sparred again. I swung right, then both to the left. He ducked and spun clockwise. Slamming the staff into my side, I dropped to a knee. I stuck my sword out to him to poke him, but he spun around again at lightning speed, breaking the staff off at two inches from my hand. Shocked, I was open to him twirling it counter clockwise over his head, smashing the other from my hand. It hit the ground and skittered across the stone. Elizabeth picked it up and handed it to the trainer. 'That will do for today. You are dismissed to do as you please.'

From that day, we trained on, until we hit 18, and we joined the military organization. It was an underground military group meant to serve the people of what was once the Germanic people. We didn't stand for the same morals that the Roman's did. We where of our ties to Britain and were ready to serve them when time called, which it had. Britain, low on troops, called on our group to help the final press on Orleans and Paris.

The two of us flew through training, quickly being recognized for exceptional skill. Being an aristocrat, William was immediately placed in a leadership role. In fear of being of separated, William quickly petitioned that I be placed in an officer's test. Today is the day I record this, March 14, 1429. We were part of the Holy Roman Empire, but we stood in our German roots. Either way, I plan to take the officer's test and be placed as a lieutenant beside the now named Lord Dunbar. If I pass, I will be deployed in the first wave to the shores of Normandy, then move in towards Isle-de-France. I would be shipped out tomorrow if I passed.

I stood up when my name was called, wearing the standard soldier armor. It was a simple grey chainmail with gold boots, gloves, and helm. Just under the chain was layered steel plates. Flexible, but still protective. Walking down the hall, I kept my swords at my hip. Entering a large, open room, I stood tall. The test was simple sounding, yet difficult. On horseback, I needed to knock off a lancer with my weapons. Horse training was something barely touched in training, only deeper for those joining the cavalry.

I got on top of a black horse that was set up for everyone to use. A true leader would be able to see through disadvantages, that's what this test was about. I got upon my steed and took a few steps forward. A jousting arena was set up with a heavily armored lancer on the other side. His lance was of standard size, gilded with gold to signify our group. He sat upon a brown horse, which snorted in approval. We both charged forward, galloping at full speed. He lowered his lance and hid his face under his helmet. Grey stripes were painted on his armor. I raised my swords high above my head, then stretched out my arms. As the lance neared my chest, my right sword came up, knocking the lance into the air, followed with left slamming it down into the dirt. His lance was jammed down well. He couldn't pull it out as he passed by. He was lifted into the air off his horse. The horse continued on, leaving him to fall on his ass. As he rolled to a stop, a voice spoke from my right.

'That was great. I think you've just been bumped up the list.' But when I turned, the man had disappeared into the shadows.

I walked out of the room on the other side. About an hour later, all the candidates had finished, a only a handful were selected, me included. I immediately ran home to give the good news of selection. I will be leaving tomorrow. End journal entry."

Yumi looked at Ulrich, confusion on her face. "That was just one log?"

"Yeah." Ulrich answered. "March 14, 1429."

"It is now that an old repressed memory arises. I wish to write about why, but first, I must tell you of what it was I remembered. It was when I was 6. My mother and father had already had another child, a girl of whom was 4 at the time. I remember the day well. A fresh hell writhing in mine mind, like a snake hunting for its next prey. This was the day my youngest sister was born."

"Why would that be bad?" Aelita wondered out loud. She still didn't grasp the full understanding of situations yet.

"I remembered it was early in the morning, the sun just peaking over the hill outside of town. I woke up to the sounds of screaming. I called out, 'What's wrong?'

Father responded with, 'You're mother's in labor child! Get in here and help me!' As I ran by, my little sister offered to fetch the doctor. 'Yes, go now.' He responded with. Hearing the door shut behind me, I came grabbed some blankets and brought them in. In the background, a sailor sang a shanty that I've come to hate. 'When up she rises, when up she rises, when up she rises, early in the morning.' It sounded like er-lie when he said early. I wish not to go through the process, so I'll jump to my sister returning. The doctor stepped through quickly, wasting no time to reach my mother. Her screams of pain couldn't be suppressed, just like last time. The doctor asked me to leave the room, which I did quickly, not wanting to witness things I shouldn't.

Minutes later, I heard the screams stopped, followed by a new, high pitched yell. The doctor asked me to enter, which I did with my sister in tow. We both gasped with joy as my father held a newborn in his hands. Mother lied on the bed inert, exhausted from the whole ordeal most likely. 'It's so beautiful!' my sister squealed out. The sailor's voice grew louder as he passed in front of the house, singing the chorus once more. The child was wrapped in white cloth, mesmerized by the world surrounding it. It's cries fell silent over time.

My father leaned in over my mother, saying, 'Look dear! Another healthy, baby girl!' My mother didn't respond though. She only lie there, her eyes closed tightly, her limbs heavy. At first, my father thought nothing of it. She was simply tired. But ten minutes later, when the doctor was soon to leave, my mother still hadn't stirred. My father handed the newborn off to me, much to my sister's dismay. He spoke something to the doctor, quiet enough we couldn't hear it. The doctor nodded and entered the room my mother lie in. There was only silence, followed by a heavy sigh.

'Mr. Stern.' The doctor said." Ulrich cleared his throat, then took a deep breath before continuing. "'Your wife… she has passed on.' The entire family then rushed into the room at once. I still held the child, eyes filled with tears from just the sound of the words he spoke, as I knew they were true. As I rushed back in, she lay in the same position we had left her in. Father ran over and began to shake her.

'Wake up woman! Please! Don't leave us! Not now!' Father yelled as he broke down into sobs and screams.

'Momma!' My middle sister moaned out before breaking down into tears.

'Why?' I whispered as tears flooded my eyes. I didn't fall to my knees like the others, lest I hurt the child. I simply stood there and sobbed, shoulders shaking as if I was in the cold of winter.

Since then, father fell into a deep depression, drinking his sorrows away. Any steady work he could get after we paid off the debt was quickly cut short by his new habits. That was one reason I took up the art of the smith. It brought in extra money.

Eventually, the ale and rum became less for forgetting the past, and more for just being part of the routine. Years later, he would get very drunk, and threaten to hurt us. But he would never follow through. The instant his mind began to sober, he would beg for forgiveness, which we gave all the time.

Most recently, his habits had reduced to waking up, chopping wood, getting drunk, then sobering up before waking up the next morning.

The reason I bring this up is for what I saw when I got home. I was excited, ready to tell my family of the successful job. I would tell them that I was on my way to fulfilling my lifelong dream of seeing the world. I would be leaving tomorrow, and I had to pack up.

But when I opened that door, my thoughts all stopped dead. Dead like the corpse I saw laying in the back of the main room. It lay behind the table, against the wall. A partially eaten meal sat on the table with several candles still burning. Father's chair sat toppled over. It was at the head of the table, facing towards the corpse. One chair was pushed away from the table, the other had one leg splintered and lay on the floor. A splatter of blood turned into a small trail as the person had tried to crawl away, only to receive another blow when they reached the wall.

A pool of blood was still spreading from the fresh kill. Her dress was torn once on her right leg, then again at her chest. Two deep gashes had been chopped into her with a woodcutter's axe. As I looked into the face permanently frozen in fear, I saw it was the face of my middle sister. I ran over, realizing she hadn't been dead for more than a few minutes. _Who could have done this?_ Her young face was etched into an ugly deformation of pain, confusion, and fear. She didn't even have a chance to defend herself. The dark brown hair was stained auburn from the blood that spackled her face. Her mouth was wide open and eyes wide, staring directly at father's seat.

Then I heard a scream. It had come from my sister's room. Running into the hallway on the left, I made my way to the end of the hall. Part of the door had been chopped down. Someone had tried to lock it. I ran into the room to see her cowering in the corner, blood from her sister staining her brilliant aqua dress. Wildflowers were placed in her hair, probably from something they did earlier that day. She had tripped in her slippers and had to keep running without them.

Standing over her was this hulking beast, axe lifted high over his head. He wore plainclothes, not having the chance to change out of them before he had snapped. Blood dripped from the blade, leaving small drops on the ground between them. With 3 quick, silent steps, I was across the room. The axe came down. A scream, following by the clash of metal on metal. One blade had intercepted the axe, the other had left a small cut on his arm. The monster, formally known as Father, twisted about in a flash. 'Why did you do this?' I asked.

He answered simply and coldly. 'You little bastards took her away from me. I know you did. I've been burdened with you all. Now, I shall avenge her, then join her in the afterlife.'

He swung at me. I took a step back. 'Don't make me do this.' I said. He continued slashing, forcing me back, swinging wildly and unpredictably. As I turned the corner to the main room, the axe narrowly missed my head, impacting the wall next to me. Continuing back, I hoped to lure him out, pulling him out into the streets where others could get him to stop. But with one wild swing, that all changed. His swing haphazardly smashed the candles, sending them onto the table and floor. The house to began to catch like kindling in the woods. With flames quickly engulfing the house, Father lost the last bit of sense he had left.

He lifted the axe over his head and started yelling. Running at me like a madman, I didn't have time to react. I took a small step forward, ruining his swing. Instead, he fell into me, axe dropping to the ground. A small, steel spike stuck out his back. With knees weak, and blood spilling swiftly, he whispered one last strike into my heart. 'We never wanted you. You… you were an abomination to this household. The rest just made it worse. You though, you ruined my life.' Then, his eyes closed, body becoming weighted with the limp heaviness of death.

As I stepped back, his body collapsed like a ragdoll onto the floor. I stepped over the corpse and quickly ran back to my sister's room. Opening the door, I yelled at her, 'We need to go. Now!' She began to run towards the closet, to quickly grab some extra garments, but a brace to the roof came crashing down, blocking the door.

She ran towards me and grabbed my hand. Tugging her arm, she was lifted into the air and into my arms. I sprinted down the hall, hearing parts of the wall cave in behind me. Turning into the main room, I saw the once elegant table, broken in two from falling rubble. In two long strides, I was at the door. I braced my shoulder against the door, the pulled back and jolted forward. The weak structure exploded into splinters. Several people with water buckets stood outside, trying to douse the flames. I heard my sister cry out, followed by a low groan. Fearing the worst, I whipped around immediately.

I faced the crumbling structure of my own home. The entire roof caved in on the walls. They were forced out and fell into the street. Dust and burnt ashes were tossed into the air, leaving only a charred pile of logs and a skeleton of a wall remaining. Most of the flames had already dissipated. Black smoke rose into the air, and for a split second, I could see a wicked smile, with anger bent eyes, and a nose resembling the same hole ina skull. It disappeared as rapidly as it appeared. People quickly ran over and put out the rest with water and other fire resistant materials.

I stepped back, taking whole scene in. My father and sister were dead, my own home burned to the ground. Worst of all, I would be leaving tomorrow and I'm left with a heavy choice. Leave my sister home to possibly face charges of murder and arson, or take her with me to the battlefield, at 12 years of age.

Thinking for a while, I decided to take her with us. She would be executed if left here, most likely, but I could at least keep her away from where the war was happening if I took her with me. I also know that if I take her, I know where she is. I don't want to lose her as well. Turning to her, I said, 'I guess you're coming with me.'

'Really?' She asked surprisingly with a hint of excitement. 'I've always wanted to see what you do.'

'Yeah…' I said, taking her hand and walking off towards the outpost. William met up with me at the entrance.

'I'm so sorry.' He said. I nodded, then entered. There was still a matter of our choice of armor. Being officers, we would wear unique armor to mark our position. William chose as silver, layered metal breastplate with boots of similar design. His gauntlets were slightly darker, and came to tips on his fingers. He didn't take a helmet. His shoulder blades were rounded off and make a good blend between chest plate and gauntlet. He grabbed his spear and headed towards his horse that he had purchased. It was a pitch black steed with chainmail laced up and down its legs.

I chose a dark grey, layered, chest plate with boots that came to four points on front, left, right, and back. My gauntlets left my fingers bare for more flexibility with dark leather gloves. My shoulder blades curled up to tips on the on either side, sticking straight into the air. A black cape flowed down to the small of my back, tattered at the bottom. I slapped my blades onto a utility belt attached to the suit. Then I walked forward towards my horse given to me. It was a bright white with chainmail covering it as well. I grabbed my little sister's hand and pulled her up. 'Where are we going?' She asked me in an innocent voice.

'To France.' I said as we rode off towards a nearby port city.


	3. Overture of War

Chapter 3: The Overture of War

Ulrich shifted around in his seat.

"God, that was dark." Odd said as he stood up.

"Where you going?" Ulrich asked.

"It's uh… getting late, so I was going to get to bed." Odd said. A quiet roar of assent flowed through the room.

Ulrich checked his cellphone. "It's not even 7:30. You just don't want to hear anything else sad, do you?"

Yumi looked at him with a straight face. "To be honest, yeah."

"What a sad life." Aelita started. "We haven't even got to the war yet."

With that, the group filed away into the elevator. Jeremy looked at him as he pressed the button to go up. "Come back when you're ready."

"fine." Ulrich said as he heard the doors close. He had already turned his head away from the elevator and began reading to himself. After a few minutes, another voice piped up.

"What? Don't I get to hear it?" The voice asked. Ulrich twisted his head around. Sitting in a chair he had fetched while the others left sat William. He got up and brought the chair with him. Sitting next to Ulrich, he said "Come on. I want to hear what happens next."

"Sorry, I thought you'd left with the rest." Ulrich said as he turned back a page. "Alright, let's get started. The next entry is of a month later. April 14, 1429."

"We had just arrived at port in east Normandy. The port was named Les Logers. Our ship was moored to the dock, 3,000 men in pale armor climbed down onto the docks. Immediately, a British officer approached us. 'So, you're the reinforcements Our Majesty sent for?' I gave a curt nod. 'Alright then, the three officers shall step forward.'

With that, William and I stepped forward. Some guy pushed his way through the crowd. He had a metal helmet on in the shape of a tin can. Thin slits allowed him sight, and holes below the slits allowed speech and breath. A black cross was formed over his face as a vertical band went down the middle and a horizontal one at the eyebrows wrapped around his head. A black cross was painted over his chest. A round, gold shield was slung on his back. On his belt was a small bag, some scrolls, and also a morning star on a partial stick with a 6 inch chain.

He grabbed his helmet and pulled it off. Long, blonde hair cascaded down to his shoulders. Blue eyes seemed to pierce the British officer's skull, staring straight into his brain. 'What are my men to do?' He asked.

'You are to move into Hermes. Two mercenaries are supposed to be there already, along with 500 British soldiers. You'll be part of the advance against Rouen to capture the eastern half of Normandy. You can see it from here.' He said as he turned around and pointed to the southwest. A massive fort stood against a port with a ship already docked. 'Further orders will be given tomorrow. Giving you a day to settle in.' With that, he turned around and ran off to a plain, brown horse.

The man with blonde hair turned back to us, helmet tucked under his left arm. William and I both bowed to a knee. 'My Lord.' We said in unison as we bowed our heads as well.

'At ease.' He said as he saw them pull our horses from another ship. We both stood at once and looked him straight in the eye.

'What's your order my liege?' William asked.

The commander turned back towards William. 'Don't call me that. Or my lord. I'm simply your general, Jonathan.'

'Yes general.' William returned with. A month on a ship, becoming more disciplined, this had definitely benefited the group as a whole.

Jonathan shook his head, then turned to me. 'Ulfrid, I want you and William to go ahead with your units and scout the base ahead. Make sure the mercenaries aren't to turn against us.'

'Yes… Jonathan.' I said as a sailor led the horses onto dry land. William and his unit climbed on their horses, receiving only snorts and hoof trots in return.

'William, your unit scout the perimeter of the base. Ulfrid, you move into the base.'

'What're you gonna do?' I asked. 'Sir.' I quickly added afterwards.

'I'm going to give a rousing speech, and make sure none of the supplies are lost or damaged.' He turned back towards the unloading ships.

My little sister came through the crowd. She had worn a plain, grey dress, and white slippers. Her hair dark was braided and she smiled wide. Her eyes looked up at mine and asked, sweetly 'What can I do brother?' She said sweetly. I jumped upon my horse and trotted onto the heavily used dirt path.

Looking back at her, I said, 'Get on up.' She ran over and grabbed onto the side of my steed. Her other hand grabbed mine, and I pulled her up. I began to slowly trot onto the path as she clasped her hands around my chest. My men at arms quickly caught up and began walking behind me as I continued forward. Dust was sent flying through the air as William and his ten other cavalry spearmen followed after him. My twenty men-at-arms kept a decent speed. Even from the distance, I could see the immense fortress about a mile away. Four spires shot into the air from the corners. Ten foot high walls wrapped around the complex, leaving three ten foot wide gaps for troops to enter through. A central spire with ammo dumps and armories jabbed high into the air. A British flag waved in the air from atop the spire. But I didn't see anybody inside.

Within minutes, my unit had gotten with a few hundred yards. I dug my heels in and entered a full gallop into the base, my troops quickly running after me. I didn't ride my steed into battle, only for transport and as a symbol of authority. Sprinting around the entire interior, I didn't see a soul. William's unit pulled in from the south entrance. His face showed bewilderment. 'Didn't find anybody?' I asked.

'No… It's like they all just disappeared. No one inside?'

'Nope.' I answered flatly. I dismounted and helped my sister down. A door to a female barracks was marked as such ahead of us. I walked forward and opened the door. I turned to her, 'Now stay here. Alright?'

'Yes brother. What if someone comes to hurt me though?' I opened the door and walked in. Immediately on the left, there was a dagger that sat on a nightstand. I picked it up and handed it to her. 'Protect youself with this. Remember our training.' She nodded and smiled, then closed the door. Looking back, I could see General Jonathan and the rest moving towards the base. 'Let's deliver the news.'

He nodded quickly and let out his reins. His horse entered a full gallop. I sprinted towards my horse, then jumped up. Landing on the saddle, I then sat down and cracked the reins, yelling back, 'Stay here! We'll be right back!' Our horses were in their prime, leaving only a trail of dirt and dust as they dashed down the path. We both pulled to a trot as we approached Jonathan.

He looked at us both. 'Report.'

William started. 'We rounded the entire fort twice and didn't find a sign of life.'

'I searched the entire courtyard and didn't find a soul.' I said. I glanced beyond our general. Looking at the other 2,968 soldiers, I saw most of them were prepared for battle. Whatever Jonathan said had inspired them. I was impressed with his skills. Then again, he had much more experience than us. He had worked years for his position. He sat light on his steed for 36. While still young, he had a touch of wisdom now encompassed in his voice, strategy, and his style. He nodded and rode towards the base. We joined him on either side, trotting for Hermes.

Looking around, I captured the beauty of the landscape. Rolling hills covered in forestry coated the distant background. The rolling plains we marched across were teeming with deer and rabbits. As our boots thundered across the ground, they would look up and scatter. Butterflies floated through the air on light wings. A humming bird of blue and green flitted over to me and drifted close to my hand. Lifting it from the rein, I slowly turned it over. Opening my palm, the hummingbird looked into it, as if expecting a treat. I slightly lifted one finger and tapped the back of it, feeling the elegant, velvety feathers that covered the bird. It looked up at me and then flew away. As we entered the post, one of my soldiers ran over with a paper in his hands.

'What is this?' Jonathan asked.

'Upon further inspection, we found this posted to the barrack entrance. It was signed by one of the mercenaries. Jonathan grabbed it and lifted it to his face.

He began to read aloud. 'Ran low on supplies, raiding Hafleur for more. Be back before dawn. Signed Georges and Marcus. Dated, April 11, 1429.'

'That was a few days ago.' William said as he read the note to himself. 'We should check this Hafleur out from the walls.'

I turned around to the soldiers. 'Crossbowmen as well as Longbow troops, get up on the wall for defensive measures. Also, someone fetch us a spyglass.'

'Yes sir!' Someone yelled as he ran over to the pile of supplies being moved into a warehouse. The archers replied the same and made for the corner spires to climb up to the wall. The three of us cut into front of a group of crossbowmen and opened the wooden door. A spiral staircase stretched into the air seemingly forever. The three of us swiftly began skipping steps while the archers trudged with no urgency to the top.

'So what are you thinking?' Jonathan asked.

'I want to see what we're up against.'

William looked at me strangely. 'We aren't supposed to march till tomorrow.'

I looked him straight in the eyes. 'We have allies that have gone missing in a village nearby. We are definitely going to investigate that. Maybe get anyone that survived.'

'Not without my consent.' Jonathan said. 'Which I may give after we take a look at the situation from the walls.' I slowed to a halt at the door and pushed it open. From atop the wall, I could see for miles. In the hazy distance, I could see a large village in the distance. A massive windmill stood near the center, with fields of something surrounding the whole city. Several houses dotted the landscape, painting the image of a calm, homey place. The French construction was just as beautiful as the landscape that surrounded it.

A soldier pushed his way through the Crossbowmen and approached us. He pulled the spyglass from his belt and handed it to us. 'Thank you.' Jonathan said. The soldier bowed in response and quickly returned to his unit. I saw on his belt several plain, steel knives. About 5 total. A small sack was also on his belt, probably filled with more for throwing.

His armor was a light, hard leather arrangement covered in chainmail. A black cloth came over his right shoulder to signify his allegiance. Taking a closer look at the archers, the crossbows had a steel helmet with chainmail pouring out over their neck. Light cloth hid away leather with light steel plates forged onto it. A black scarf wrapped around their necks to show allegiance. All archers wore similar attire, some with no helmets, others with the same chainmail helmet.

I placed the spyglass over my left eye and closed the right. With both hands on the spyglass, I held it steady. Looking through the spyglass, I could see French soldiers surrounding the city. The four entrances into town were all blocked with wooden barricades and had Crossbowmen kneeling behind them, bow pointed into town. There appeared to be motion within the village. Our troops were caught in a siege. Several other units sat behind the barricade, waiting for the order to finish those trapped inside. 'You'll want to see this,' I said as I handed it to Jonathan. 'There's definitely some trickery down there.'

Jonathan grunted, then handed it to William. 'You're right about that.' He said, crossing his arms as he spoke.

'Shit…' William said as he brought it down. 'That's a lot of them. We can take that ribaldry out though.'

Jonathan glanced at him. Jonathan was the strategist of the primary force into France. 'We could, but a more strategic approach would yield less troop casualties. That, and they don't know we're here yet. We can use that to our advantage. Any ideas?'

I turned around and looked down upon the open field. Some soldiers were moving an empty cart. Several bales of hay were scattered around the fort. Also, some troops had found gunpowder in the armory and were moving a few barrels around. 'I think I have an idea.'

'Yes Ulfrid?' Jonathan asked.

'We could take a couple barrels of gunpowder, cover it in the hay, and have someone take it around back of the town. The could put it on the hill, light the hay ablaze, and kick down amongst the French troops. The explosion would draw them away.'

'Then we could slip in, grab the troops, and get out.' Jonathan finished.

'I was thinking we could get in and take break the siege, gaining Hafleur for ourselves.'

William looked behind himself. Turning back, he added, 'There's an old chariot down there we could use to be a distraction unit and allow our forces to pour into the village.'

'You two are learning quickly.' Jonathan said as he started for the spire. We followed right behind him. The crossbows parted like the Red Sea as we passed through. Quickly advancing down the spire, Jonathan yelled out, 'Prepare to march on Hafleur. We need to rescue our allies.'

Several sounds of affirmation echoed through the open courtyard. William headed for the old chariot. 'I want this thing spiffed up with my horse and two of by best javelin throwers. Also, get a ton of disposable spears from the armory and our supplies.' Several soldiers in the vicinity responded by sprinting off to find supplies.

I stopped the soldier on horseback with the cart and told him, 'Get this filled with two gunpowder barrels and hay on top of that. Grab a torch and then meet me at the south exit of the base. He nodded and then quickly moved the cart to the armory. I turned back around and made my way to the south exit. Within seconds, William, who sat on the bench of an old chariot cart, stopped next to me. The readied fire cart came from behind. I grabbed the torch and traded his horse for mine. I hooked it in, then got onto my saddle. Jonathan walked between us.

'I will lead all three of our units, as well as a few hundred troops in to back up the attack.'

They both looked at me. 'The signal to march will be the explosion. William will dash by, attracting their attention away, then you'll march.'

'Sounds like a good plan.' William said. Jonathan nodded in agreement. I then began a quick gallop downhill towards the village. The cart rocked around and the wind threatened to blow the flames into the cart. A caught a few strange glances from French soldiers. But they dismissed me as a farmer or some sort of messenger. Making my way around to the south side, I then stopped the hill that overlooked the south entrance to the village.

I unhooked the horse and pushed the cart to the edge. I threw the torch into the pile of hay. With one mighty push, the cart was sailing down the hill. Several French troops turned and stared in bewilderment at the unmanned, flaming cart rolling straight for them. It ran over several of the troops and crashed into the barricade. The hay finished burning, and the gunpowder caught. In a loud bang, Several red hot, armored corpse were sailing through the air. The barricade burst wide open. Fire rolled into the sky as the barricade continued burning. Spooked horses began running randomly. A few troops were tossed from their steed and into the splinters and fire. Others charged straight for a pasture, throwing their riders off as they crashed into the fence.

I mounted my steed and cracked the reins. It reared back and turned away. At a full gallop. I fled the scene as French soldiers investigated from the other barricades. Passing the north entrance, I saw William sprinting downhill with his two riders throwing spears into the crowd. One was fitted with a small flame and a white sac. It was tossed past the soldiers and into the barricade. The small explosion blew a hole in the structure wide enough for three chariots.

His cavalry unit quickly sped after him while Jonathan led the rest downhill. I stood up on the saddle as it passed between my unit and a light axe unit behind me. Jonathan's troops were all dressed like him, but his armor was more vividly colored than theirs. My soldiers had layered steel armor with a black X on their chest, from their left shoulder to right leg and right shoulder to left leg. The light axe men behind them, in a group of 30, wore a black shirt with steel plates stitched in on the inside. Brown pants were built in a similar format. They carried several hatchets, ready to throw if necessary. I leapt into the air as the horse passed between them. Landing with a thud, I told my unit, 'Let's move.' Before standing, I gripped both blades. Jumping up within an instant, the two blades also flew straight out. I spun them once, then moved into position. The formation, halfway there, broke into two columns, Jonathan leading one, me leading the other.

Our double unit collided with the bewildered French forces. Their thinned numbers stood no match. A spear unit tried to attack our unit, but hatchets flew from overhead, stopping them in their tracks. The soldier about to stab me looked up to catch a hatchet between his eyes. It dug a few inches deep before whipping his head back. His body twisted around and landed on his stomach. Stunned, the unit started to pull back. Instead, I ran ahead the group engaging them.

I jumped up and pushed my left sword forward. It stabbed a man in the gut. Doubling over, another jabbed from the side. My other sword slapped the spear away. Digging the first out of the corpse, it fell to the ground as I swung to the right. The sword caught the man in the side, and he dropped. A bolt flew by my head. I turned to the archer, who immediately turned pale. With a flick, the blood was cleaned from the sword. He desperately tried to reload as I slammed the ruby into his jaw. He flew a few feet back, impaling himself on the spiked barricade, which fell over. The overran barricade was swiftly passed by our troops. The spearmen were retreating. We pushed our way into the city, where William stood on the chariot, waiting.

A man carrying a short bow stepped forward. He looked only a year or two my senior. His hair was short and brown. Light steel armor covered him. He bore no sign of allegiance. Then, I noticed a red scarf that wrapped over his right shoulder and held his quiver. 'So you would be the reinforcements?'

'Why would you help us?' Another man said as he stepped forward. He carried a spear with heavy armor. The armor was very limiting to his motion, but would serve him well defensively. A single red cloth wrapped over his head, hiding most of his brown hair. They both had similar physical attributes. Both had brown hair and eyes, cream colored skin, and facial shape. They were of similar height, the spearmen slightly taller. He was also much bulkier. The archer was small and thin. They looked related, almost as brothers.

'We were requested by the King of Britain, so here we are.' Jonathan answered.

I took a few steps forward. "We don't leave our own behind to die. Anglo-Saxon, British, or mercenary, it doesn't matter. We fight under the same flag." The small one pulled back, as if the idea of being saved by the people that hired him disgusted him. The larger one took a step forward and lowered to one knee.

'Thank you sir.' He said as he also bowed. Motioning a hand to the archer, he said. "We are brothers. My name is Marcus and his is George.' Jonathan lowered his hand to the Marcus' shoulder. He looked up at our commander. Jonathan smiled down at him and pulled him up by his shoulder.

'Let's drive the French out of here and we can celebrate in the tavern.' Jonathan said. Marcus and George both nodded in agreement. As the French realized what had happened, the barricades fell, and they moved in to take us out. At least a hundred soldiers advanced at once into Hafleur. The dirt on the streets were kicked into the air. I led my unit forward as William's cavalry rushed past led by the chariot. I ran among the swords and axes and spears that flashed in the sunlight.

One man with a two handed axe swung at me, and I rolled under it. Two more came down. I blocked both with my swords and in a flash was standing tall. With both my swords out wide, I brought them both in at lightning speed to make an X on the soldier. His steel gave way and his arms fell limp. He dropped to his knees, and one sword split his nose down the center. My left sword swung out and swept the legs out of one axe and he dropped to the ground. The right stabbed down into his chest and the other spun around my back to an axe. I rotated my body around and slashed the arm holding the axe from his body. The man fainted and bled out on the grass.

A halberd narrowly missed my neck as I bent backwards. I rose back forward and caught the halberd in mid swing. I twirled to my right and brought out both blades. The halberd stuck tightly into the ground. Then I took one step forward and brought both blades up. They crossed and pierced the soldier's armor between the ribs. I lifted the corpse over me, blood dripping down onto my armor. French stared on in fear. I slashed both blades out to their proper side. The body twirled in the air, then landed on a thief that tried to stab me. As he looked up, the halberd came down on his head, killing him instantly. A female soldier ran at me with a rapier. I caught the blade and twirled her around. With her back turned, both blades flew from the right at the back of her neck. She flopped to the ground dead, blood gushing like a river.

Several with sword and shield surrounded me. I parried the first and stabbed with the other sword. Then I spun around and stuck the sword in another's throat. A third slammed his shield into my chest. I clung onto it as he ran forward. My left sword entered horizontally into his eyes, and he dropped. I kicked the shield with full force, smashing the mouth of a fourth. As he stumbled back, a sword lopped his leg off below the knee. A fifth charged from behind. My swords entered his shoulders and I tossed him over me. Only French and a few British corpses littered the field. Not a single one of my men was dead.

The few remaining French troops were fleeing, chased by arrows and horses. Hafleur was ours. Cheers of victory rose into the bright, sunlit sky, and didn't fall into late in the night. Brits, Mercs, and Romans were all gathered around a great fire that burned in the heart of town. French weapons were ablaze, signifying that soon, they would be too. French people and plague doctors were cleaning the streets while Brits cleaned out the tavern's rum collection. Mercenaries sat around the fire, telling stories and rumors.

I approached Marc and George, who were sitting in the back of the chariot. I stepped onto the driver's bench, and hung my legs into the back. "Got any whimsical tales, or news going around?"

George looked up at me. "What's it to you?" He asked rudely.

Marc silenced his brother. After lowering his cup, he spoke. "Forgive my brother. He's a mad drunk. If it's rumors you're interested in, there is talk of a great strategist coming over for the British side."

"What's so special about him?" I asked.

"He just came home from a trip to Japan in an attempt to open trade with them. His name is…" Ulrich stopped in his tracks.

William looked up at him. "What's wrong, is it scratched out?"

Ulrich shook his head.

"Then what's wrong?" William asked. Ulrich only pointed to the page in disbelief. William walked over, then read the word he pointed at. "His name is… Jeremiah Bradford. So?"

"Do you know how close that is to Jeremy Belpois?"

"Yeah, but it's not." William said. "Just finish the entry already."

Ulrich cleared his throat, then continued. "At that time, a Prussian soldier on border patrol approached. Attacks in the night were rare.

The soldier ran up and bowed to a knee. 'Speak man.' I said to him.

'Sir. Horse hooves approach from the south.'

'Then stop him immediately.' I said. The soldier bowed, but before he could return to his post, horse hooves echoed through the air. Then he entered the torchlight. A rider in purple dyed cloaks and armor approached over the hill. On one hip sat a light crossbow, the other had some bolts. Strung along his back was a great bow with respective arrows. A short bow and arrows were strapped along the saddle of his black stallion. A purple dyed saddle sat with him. Purple was a color of riches. It is a rare dye, very expensive. Whoever this was had a lot of gold to afford all of that.

A post was strapped to the back of the saddle, waving the Italian flag through the air. His horse slowed to a trot as William approached. A hood covered his face. He dropped from his steed and approached the fire. George stood up in a flash. "What are you doing here?" He asked loudly. Marc did nothing but give the man a cold glare.

Without looking, he said, "Nothing of your concern." He whipped around, back to the fire. Jonathan walked past the mercenaries and faced the hooded figure.

"I am the leader of this regiment. If you have anything to say, then say it to me. Who are you?" The figure grabbed his hood and whipped it back. Short messy blonde hair was exposed with blue eyes. He wasn't very tall, and appeared kind of scrawny.

"I'm the personal hired bodyguard of Jeremiah for when he arrives. My first order is to aid you in creating a safe entry point."

"That doesn't answer my question." Jonathan said, slowly reaching for his mace.

The figure lifted a hand up. "That is unnecessary. My name is Odici Dellrobi. The richest mercenary to step into France." Ulrich dropped the book into his lap. William tried not to choke on air.


	4. Rumors Spread

Rumors Spread

Ulrich and William reached the campus late into the night, then sleeping for the remainder of it, about 4 hours. It would be Saturday, which meant less classes and a chance to catch the group. Ulrich woke up as his alarm went off. Looking down at himself, he realized that he had been holding the book the entire time he was asleep. Quickly getting dressed, he saw that Odd was already downstairs. Ulrich carefully tucked the journal down in his bag and headed down the steps.

At the table, Ulrich immediately whipped out the journal. "You'll never guess what went down while you guys were gone."

Aelita looked him dead in the eye. "Let me guess. More death and destruction?"

"Well yes, it's a journal about someone's perspective of war, so duh." William said. "But that's not what we mean."

"Then what?" Jeremy asked.

Ulrich flipped the page open to the ribbon and said, "I think Odd especially will like this." Ulrich cleared his throat and re-read the line. "My name is Odici Dellrobi, the richest mercenary to step into France." Odd stopped eating immediately.

"Dude, that's so cool! Is he an ally to your ancestor dude?" Odd said. A wide smile had spread across his face, he was filled with joy, or maybe something else.

"Yeah, he's hired to protect a military strategist that arrives in the area 'soon.'" William said, referencing the book.

Ulrich closed the book and tucked back away. "How about he meet up after class and read more on him?" Odd nodded his head, but the other's seemed uninterested.

"No thanks." Jeremy said, the others agreed.

"Whatever, their loss, am I right?" Ulrich asked. Odd shook his head and William agreed. "Alright then. Let's meet up in our room after classes." With that, they agreed, and separated. William walked off with Yumi to class and the others headed for History.

As Ulrich entered, the teacher approached him. "So how far are you? Done?" He said this sarcastically.

"No, but-" Ulrich started, pulling the book out of his bag.

He teacher scoffed, then said, "Well big surprise! Now get to work like the rest." He sharply pointed his finger towards Ulrich's desk. He walked over and sat down, opening his book to continue reading. The teacher swiftly came over and slammed the book shut on Ulrich's fingers.

Pulling them out, he said, "What was that for?"

His teacher leaned down and looked at him dead in the eyes. In a low voice, he growled out as seriously as possible, "Get to work."

Ulrich opened his mouthed to protest, but decided against it. He put the journal away and looked around the room for examples of working. People were putting together their projects. Ulrich breathed a heavy sigh, pulled out some supplies and got to 'work.' Satisfied, the teacher walked away.

Later that day, they met up in Ulrich's dorm. Odd sat on his bed with Kiwi in his lap. William sat in a chair off to the side and Ulrich was on his bed. His slowly opened the book up and found where he had left off. "April 15, 1429. After the successful battle of Hafleur, we had already reinforced the southern border, we needed to only conquer the base to the east, Navarre.

Our men lined up as more Roman reinforcements entered port. This would be happening for at least the next 2 weeks. Our now bolstered 6,000 planned to split in two. The old regiment was to march to Navarre, the new soldiers split up and were sprinkled amongst the two pre-owned bases.

Sunlight poured into the windows of the fort. I had chosen a bad place to sleep, as a thin slit sunlight poured into my eyes. Rolling over, I nearly toppled off my bed. Now groggy, but awake, I stumbled to my personal chest and dug out some clothes. Slipping them on, I then headed for the armory to don my armor. I lifted my belt from beneath my bed, which was heavy with my swords. Strapping it on, I then walked my way out of the male barracks. William and Jonathan quickly followed.

We arrived in the armory and hastily put on our armor. After we stepped out, Odici approached us. Seeing him in the light, he was rather majestic in appearance, as if a mercenary could. Most were looked down upon for a lack of morals that didn't involve money. Although he appeared scrawny in body build, he was highly agile and did show the presence of some muscles. His purple cloak whipped in a sudden, strong gust of wind. "Alright, Jeremiah told me to join you on any offensive arrangement. Put me where you need me, I can lead any archer unit."

Jonathan glanced about Hermes, then said. "Odici, we want you to lead a long bow unit. Stay behind the formation, lead multiple units, and strike down the French troops that try to push through or escape." Odici bowed lightly, then went towards the stables.

William looked towards Jonathan. "What's the plan?"

Jonathan took a few steps, then whipped back around. "We will take cannons to the hill between the bases, threatening to fire upon the walls. However, the enemy will hopefully not see through our deception." Jonathan explained. "They'll sooner lower the drawbridge gate instead of risking it shot down, as that means they can't leave. We use that open gate to force through the defenses that will certainly be thick. The rest of the plan is to hold the three bases till nightfall. In the next couple days from then, Jeremiah will arrive and deliver the long term goal with a strategy."

"Why not just blow down the gate?" I asked.

"That way we can use it later." Jonathan said.

"Sounds reasonable." William said. "Let's move out then." William and I began towards Navarre, but Jonathan grabbed both of us.

"Where do you think you two are going? We need leaders on defense of the two bases. William, you stay here. Ulfrid, you get to Hafleur."

"What about Marc and George?" William asked.

"It's a new day, with a new operation, and a new bag of gold. They're elsewhere. Maybe even an enemy now." I huffed then bowed.

"I honor your judgment." I said, then went for the stables. There, my bright white horse stood tall, shining like the innocence stolen from me. I boarded my steed and called out for my unit. About 50 men at arms approached, all in their special armor. I called out amongst them. "Today we stand to defend the name of Britain, and of our ancestors." My left sword pointed out toward Hafleur. "Onward men. We defend that city." They gave a cheer and then began the march for Hafleur.

William gave my men a nod. My little sister came around the corner and called my name. "Ulfrid!" She yelled. I turned to her. "I want to come with you." She said.

"I'm sorry, but you have to stay here. It's much safer. I'm sure that William will keep you company." I looked up at William, who gave a curt nod. He whistled for her attention. She looked over at him, and he waved his hand. She ran off towards him and he directed her towards the walls.

I turned with my horse and marched towards Hafleur. Most of my 1,500 men had already made it into Hafleur and were taking up defensive positions. I quickly snapped the reins and rode off.

Within minutes, I was in town, trotting past troops and civilians alike. A plague doctor was walking down the street, people parting way for him. They feared the bird like mask. It was a sign, a sign reminiscent of the Masque of the Red Death. People feared him and cowered in his presence. He approached a person's home and knocked.

A young man opened the door. Next to him sat several cases of clothes and other commodities. He bowed and stepped out of the home, followed by his wife, and one son. The doctor held up two fingers, making sure they were the only ones left. The young man answered, 'Yes, one son, and one daughter.' He was teary eyed and keeping his best from breaking down. The others were already in tears, grief stricken with the infection of their family.

I continued on behind the lines and watched the eastern side of the city, staring out at the vast expanse of land between Hafleur and Navarre. I could see cannons in the hazy distance. A large cluster of soldiers were standing near the cannons, bows ready to pull, a foot on the bottom of the bow. Several hundreds of others were marching towards the base. Using the spyglass, I could see the fort in the distance. It appeared to be a small community sitting on an island carved with a moat. The drawbridge was up and a massive wooden wall stood with pointed tips spearing the sky. A massive structure stood on a hill behind the rest of the city with a French flag flying high at the top.

I could see the arrows flying for the city ahead, and cannons firing over the walls. The drawbridge would fall soon enough. Then a report came from the south. A soldier came up to me. "Sir!" He said.

I looked at him. "Yes?" I asked. "Troops are approaching from the other side of the river. What should we do?"

I turned and began for the southern edge of the city. It told him as I began to gallop, "Get archers prepared in the fields outside of town and strike out their cavalry first. More orders will come." The private, most likely, bowed and then charged onwards ahead of me. When I arrived, I saw the 2/3 of the archers moving outside of the city, the other third were setting up in the cottages of the city. Using my spyglass, I could see about 500 coming across the river and about 150 of them were cavalry.

Several archers were getting anxious, arrows drawn. I trotted out ahead of the rest and lifted my left sword. With the enemy army within 250 yards, I yelled out, "Fire!" As my left hand came down. 200 arrows ripped through the air, about 175 finding their targets. 2/3 of the cavalry fell dead. The formation was in a frenzy, cavalry were scattering and men were rushing. Then my hand came up and pointed forward. "Charge!" I yelled. Another 600 charged out of the city towards the enemy. Infantry numbered 300 and cavalry 100. The other 200 were miscellaneous British troops.

The remaining cavalry pulled in for a pincer attack, but another salvo of arrows sliced into their numbers, reducing it to zero. The remaining archers moved back behind the buildings as crossbows fired over our troops. Another salvo of arrows caught the French of guard, especially since they could see the archers retreating into the city. Several bodies dropped as pikes were lowered towards our cavalry. Being at the front of the formation, they had plenty of room to scatter out and come back around into the axe and shield soldiers. I saw javelins go flying into the pike men, striking them down and sending the pikes to the ground. I watched as our troops decimated the French. Within a few minutes of skirmishing, the surviving 35 French soldiers pulled back, we had experienced even less casualties then the number of their surviving troops.

Turning my attention back around, I saw a large mass of British and Roman soldiers headed back out of Hermes and straight for us. At least a couple hundred cavalry led them, and at the head of that was William and one of his two underlings. He pulled up at the edge of town. I came riding through the town to meet him with my two underlings. "What happened!?" I yelled at him.

"It was all so fast. We were distracted, watching the battle when a pincer attack hit us. Two divisions had deployed from Navarre, and attacked us from two sides. We were so surprised, that I pulled out. We had already accumulated 300 casualties by the time they hit 75."

"So you just pulled out?" I said, calmer now. "We'll take that back in a few minutes." Then I looked around. I grew angry as I asked the question, "Where is my sister?"

William looked around for a few seconds, then back at me. He was pale in the face. "Uh… Back in the base?" He said this as if asking a question.

I lifted a fist, but held back my rage. Instead, I turned back to my men. "Men! We're moving out!" I screamed this out, then charged towards Hermes.

William called back, "What do you want me to do?"

My head whipped around, then screamed, "Stay on guard and stay aware!"

With that, 1,500 soldiers pulled out of the north entrance to town and came to a screeching halt. They formed up in two blocks of 750 each. A space wide enough for me was between the blocks. One underling sat on his horse at the head of each block, and I in the center. I could see archers standing atop the walls, arrows trained on us. They were ready and waited for a full frontal charge. Turning back to my soldiers, I called out, "Split into your respective blocks, one side to the right, one to the left. Watch for my signal, and we'll form back up down the center." I could see my troops stepping around anxiously, not sure of the success of this maneuver. But as long as they follow my orders, they'll come out fine.

I turned and charged forward to the right. The other block started towards the left side of the base. I could see arms moving about within the base, calling out for reinforcing troops on either side. I could see the formation directly in front of us thinning out.

Then I made a motion with my hand and swept left. The underling on the other side made the same motion and swept right. Caught by surprise by the feigned pincer attack, the front formation was caught in a pincer attack of their own creation. Soldiers started rushing for the front lines, but were too late. Our formation dashed theirs into the dust. I leapt from my horse and stuck a knee out. A French soldier was quickly crushed beneath my knee. He had knives in his hands, but was unable to defend himself as I brought my blade down on his head.

Standing swiftly, I blocked an incoming knife and stuck my shorter blade out. Another clash, followed by swinging my sword out of the first man and across the throat of the second. They both dropped as soldiers were dashed away into the dirt. Our formation quickly pushed into the base. A line of 100 short bows fired into our crowd. 50 allies dropped dead, including one of my underlings. One arrow came to me, but I swung my sword, smashing it in mid air.

I could feel tiny splinters bounce off my face. The cavalry immediately pushed through, slamming through the archer line before they could reload. A few remainders fled away. One in specific fired straight at me. I leaned to the left, watching it strike a French defender in the back. He instinctively reached back and received a sword across the chest. As he turned to run, I raced up behind him. With both swords flashed out, they swept from right to left across the nape of his neck. Blood splashed out and sprayed onto the ground. While I couldn't see his face, I was sure it was frozen in fear. Then I heard a scream.

My head whipped up to see the base defender. He was standing tall, with two small axes in his hands. I could see his eyes full of rage paired with his skin a deep red from blood flowing to cool his quaking body. The entire battle had grinded to a halt. French, British, and Romans all stared forward at this one man. Arrows had stopped flying, blades stopped flashing, and innards no longer dripping from fresh wounds. His right arm was pointed straight at me, axe in hand. The other was high in the air. He yelled out for all to hear, "That was my brother! You will pay for his death!" With that, a circle had formed around the two of us. Archers had began to come down from the wall.

Only the commander and I stood within the circle. They wanted to see one of us die. His left arm came back, then flew forward. His axe came spinning at a break neck pace. It was garnished in red, stained from the blood of fallen enemies. I sidestepped and stuck out my hand. Catching it by the handle, I took a few steps forward, then whipped my arm about in a tight circle.

The throw was fairly poor, flying high over his head. It landed with a sickening _thunk!_ amongst the crowd of French soldiers. One of his men passed a new one to the commander, and he charged straight for me. I quickly pulled out my left sword and crossed them. In a blinding rage, the base commander slashed his axes near randomly.

I shifted back and forth, expertly blocking or dodging his attacks. Each one bounced off my blades. Although we both were experiencing similar emotions, he obviously hadn't experienced the same kind of trauma I had when young. I remained calm and collected, even with my sister in their clutches. He on the other hand, had completely lost his track of sense, blindly and violently reacting. He would be easy.

The man swung heavily, nearly losing his balance and shifting forward. I planted the blunt side of both sides against his back and pushed myself behind him. My swords immediately came up and slashed across his shoulders. The leather holding his chest plates on his body were sliced in two, and they both fell. He began to whip around, axes in hand. They were aimed for my chest. My right heel came up and was jabbed out. My steel boot smashed his jaw. What happened next was practically slow-motion.

As the teeth and blood flew from his mouth, he twisted around to expose his back. In that moment, both of my blades came up, slashing from the top of his buttocks to the top of his shoulder blades. He let out a scream as the deep incisions sliced into his flesh body. His body lifted off the ground a whole foot. As he started to fall forward, my blades pointed to the earth and came down. They both punched through his brutalized body, hitting the ground before his corpse did.

In the wake of this, the French started scattering to save themselves. My men quickly took chase, slaughtering as many as they could. I turned towards the barracks to find my little sister. Near the barracks sat a plain, brown horse with a plain leather saddle. Out came a soldier in tight, black steel. It was layered and had a cloak like armor structure donned over it. Over his shoulder was my sister, crying heavily. My body was frozen, refusing to move in the wake of this sight. Tears were streaming from her face onto the cloak of the soldier. He placed her on the back of the horse like luggage. He then slapped the reins and rode past me, out towards Navarre.

Another French horse rode past me, receiving a blade in the chest. The soldier fell from the horse, coughing up blood like a madman. I leapt onto the back and cracked the reins with full force. The horse reared back in protest, but then charged forward. Fortunately, this unknown soldier wasn't very fast with the extra person on back. He was passing between some brush when I caught him. A sword flashed out, as did his. Our blades clashed in the air, again and again. I then stood up on the back of my galloping horse and jumped forward. My boot was planted onto his back, pushing him off the side and rolling onto the ground. The horses slowed to a halt.

He got back onto his feet, spatting on the ground as he did so. "You don't look like a Brit." He said as he wobbled on his feet.

"And you don't look like a French," I said. "So mercenary, who are you, and who sent you?"

"Like I'd give away confidential information." The mercenary said. "But I will tell you this. I am Magnus, one of the best you'll ever see, and the last." He ran forward. I pulled out another sword and clashed steel. The rest of his unit came out from within the brush, all 20 bearing swords. They charged at me in a flurry. I jumped up and slashed my blade, severing the throat of the first. I landed on his fallen corpse, ducking then under several swords.

My swords crisscrossed, severing several men's legs open. As three dropped in pain, another charged, and I swung my blade up, knocking his from his hand. It landed in his back, taking him to the ground with it. Three more came at me. I stabbed deeply into the first one's stomach, and he fell back before I could dig it out. My right hand swept right, grabbing the sword out of the soldier with it in his back. In a flash, it was stuck inches deep left kidney of the second. The other slowed in surprise. My left sword flashed into the man's chest, and came back out. He collapsed to his knees, coughing up blood.

Two more charged. I swept the legs of them both, then brought the blades down on their throats, flashing blood into the air. I caught a scratch across my back and whipped around. As I turned, I saw remaining soldiers were all on the ground dead. Arrows had sliced deeply in their necks, chest, and other regions. The last man had tried to cut my spine, but an arrow caught him in the forehead, whipping him back and into the air.

I looked up and saw Magnus was nowhere to be found. Odici Was standing on a hill not a ¼ km from me. He waved his hand excitedly at me. I donned my stolen horse and rode straight towards him. I slowed to a halt and approached him on foot. Immediately, I barked out, "Where did Magnus go?"

Odici turned around and pointed at toward the moat. "Down there." Sure enough, a horse stood with my sister on the back, still tied up. On the ground laid Magnus, an arrow in his leg. He was gripping it tightly and he gritted his teeth. Behind him sat the city. The drawbridges were down, one even having the chains sliced. Behind the walls, smoke rose into the air amongst some flames that licked towards the sky. The cannons still had smoke rising from their barrels.

The horse charged down the hill straight for Magnus, who saw me coming and immediately began cowering from my approach. I halted next to his horse and lifted my sister off onto my horse. Using my sword, I carefully severed the rope around her wrists and ankles. She sat up on the horse as I dismounted. With slow steps, I soon found myself standing over Magnus, who was looking at me with guilt filled eyes. "You were simply following orders, now weren't you?" He answered with a slight nod.

I reached down and gripped the shaft of the arrow. With a single jerk, the arrow was free. His cry of both pain and relief reached into the heavens itself. "Why wouldn't you kill me?" He asked.

"I don't really know. Maybe if I was given more information, I might spare your life." I said, twirling my sword in hand.

"Alright! I'll tell you everything." He took a deep breath, then began. "I really don't know who sent me on this job, but I do know I was getting a big paycheck."

"What do you mean?" I asked as he tried to stand.

He then continued. "I was getting a Odici like payment for a simple job. I just had to capture the Hermes, and take your sister from the base. Then, deliver her to the soldiers waiting at Navarre."

"You mentioned Odici." I said. "Is there anything else you can provide about him?"

"Why would it matter to you?" Magnus asked back.

"He seems kind of mysterious. Just a little bit like he's hiding something."

"Then you're not the first to notice this trend. Us mercenaries have many theories about his origin. You see, he was a complete nothing for a long time. He was just another mercenary on the prowl for gold. Then one day, he scored big. In one day, from complete nothing to absolute everything. Most think he may hove preformed a great part in some battle. Others think he gained favor with a politician who decided to promote him across the land. A few, like myself, think he came from darker origins." Magnus then stopped, trying desperately to hobble away.

My hand tightly grasped his shoulder, then I said, "Explain this."

"I think that he practices black arts. He seems to take an unusual interest in the strange, as well as the servants among the plantations. We believe he worships a demon, and that he granted Odici his fame. That's all I know."

"What about Jeremiah Bradford?"

"He's about as corrupt as a politician can get." He took another deep breath, then continued. "He was recently off in Japan attempting to open trade. When he heard France was on the verge of defeat, he rushed straight back. Very suspicious. Rumors are going around that he's a traitor, so I'd be careful when he gets here."

I lifted Magnus up and sat him on his horse. "That's enough. Now get out of here before I change my mind." Magnus grimaced, then rode off towards a separate base. I looked upon the flag that stood within Navarre. It no longer flew a French flag, but instead a tattered British flag. Odici turned around, commanding 2/3 of the archers to move a cannon into the base, and the rest to help him move the others back to the other two bases. I ran over and began helping them move the cannon as my sister rode the horse back to base.

Someone on the French side had ordered the capture of my little sister. Who would do such a thing? The only people that know my sister is here are my allies. Someone in my ranks is a traitor.


	5. A Dark Situation

A Dark Situation

"The sun was setting by the time we arrived back into Hafleur. William had retaken his position in Hermes and put the guard on alert. I had taken up camp and was planning on sleeping in the heart of the town. We had begun our revelry for another successful day. The fire blazed bright like a second sun, low in the sky. In town, the party goers were just getting started up. I had come to the far edge of town. I sat on the peak of a small hill just outside down. I could see down below into a plantation field. Odici had trudged up the hill and sat next to me. The moon shone high and bright in the night. It cast a beautiful reflection off the Bay of Normandy.

I was stargazing, pointing out different constellations when he sat next to me. At first, we just sat there, staring into the starlit sky. Then he turned to me and asked softly, 'What do you think about this place?'

'France is a truly elegant place. It's too bad that I see her only in war time.' I explained. Then I turned to him. 'I feel like I can only trust you, considering you're a mercenary.'

'What do you mean?' Odici asked me.

'Someone amongst us is a traitor.'

'Where did you hear that?' Odici asked.

'Magnus told me that when I was threatening his life.'

'Hm.' Odici sighed. 'Mercenaries will say anything to save their skin.' Then he turned back to the stars. 'You and I, we're friends, right?'

'Yeah, why?' I asked.

'I'm sure you've heard many rumors about me by now from different sources.' I nodded my head quietly. 'I want you to know that not everything they say is true.'

'I could guess that.' I said. Then, I glanced out over the bay, seeing ships with bright lamps lighting the entire deck. Reinforcements would be rolling into port by sunrise. More inexperienced soldiers. 'What is true about you? Like your origin for example?'

Odici drew a long breath, then started. 'I was born in the Papal States. I never knew my parents, they left me on the doorstep of an orphanage within weeks of my birth. I was raised in a catholic orphanage up until I was 16, when the place was destroyed in a devastating thunderstorm. The place stood near a cliff edge, and when the storm came in, the high waters and heavy rain swept the building right off its perch. I was sleeping through the night, like I normally do. A loud crash of thunder awoke me. My roommates were still sleeping. I went to the window, and saw that the building was slowly sliding across the hilltop.'

Odici took a deep breath, then continued on. Small tears were developing in the corners of his eyes. 'I dashed back and shoved my two other roommates off their beds. With no time to get into our normal attire, we sprinted out in our sleep shirts and pants. In a flying fury, we ran into each room and yelled for them to get up and out. I led them down the halls, never looking back to see if we were followed. I ran out onto a muddy field. The heavy rain had turned a large portion of the cliff edge into a slop that was slowly running off the side of the ledge. I heard a cry of fear from behind me. My roommates ran by onto dry land, but I stopped and turned around. A small girl was standing on the patio of the house. The immense pillars had been so shaken up from the movement, they collapsed and the patio roof fell, blocking off the exit. She was standing directly under the roof, and it crushed her.' He grabbed my shoulders. I could see his eyes were full of tears. 'I heard her bones crunch, her cry echo through the night.'

'I'm so sorry I asked.' I said.

'I just can't stop. I have to get this out. I've never told anybody before. So much weight was on the edge, it gave way. I felt the thick, gooey earth pulled out from beneath my feet. I landed on my back and skidded through the muck left behind. My hand barely grasped onto the dry ledge. I dared to look down, and what I saw horrified me. The building I had grown up in was followed by the yard I played in. They plunged into the water below with a sickening crash. I saw wood and stone alike crumbling as clots of mud and dirt smashed into it. Hot tears were a strong contrast to the cold rain and mud that covered my body. Then I heard a loud creaking.'

'That's enough.' I tried to say, but he kept going anyway, as if he didn't hear me.

'A tree behind me at the top had been hanging over the ledge. It toppled and cascaded down the hill straight towards me. I ducked, but it still ran over my hand.' He lifted up his right hand, which was still slightly mangled. His fingers weren't quite straight. He also couldn't flex his fingers out straight. 'I fell three stories into the bay below. My body slapped into the water, and I was unconscious I never saw either of my roommates since that day..'

'Alright.' I said, uneasy. 'I heard a rumor that you take an interest in serfs?'

'Yeah, that goes right with my origin story. I washed several miles away, on the beach of a plantation. Ever since that story hit the news, people were told to watch the beach for survivors and salvageable materials. So the plantation owner sent out a group of serfs out to scour the beach once every hour. Still unconscious, I washed up on the beach facedown. A pair of serfs, brother and sister, ran over and rolled me over. One lifted my face up, and the other started slapping me around to wake me. This is what they told me. When I came to, the to that had helped me were sitting in the house along with the plantation owner. He said I owed him my life. I didn't disagree, so he took advantage of me.'

'Oh God that's disgusting!' I said. Odici laughed out loud and patted his hand on my shoulder.

'Not like that! I meant he put me on guard duty at the plantation. Over the next year, I grew close with the serfs on the plantation. Over that year, it became apparent that he had no intention of ever letting me out of his service.' Odici wiped a tear from laughter off his cheek. 'I grew close to this one black girl. She was about my age, maybe a year or two younger. She was the girl that saved me on the beach. She was a beautiful brown, like the color of the horse's mare. We fell in love and I promised her that we would escape together if ever a chance were to arise. The serfs revolted during that year.'

I shifted around on the hill. I was ready for the long tale sure to ensue.

'It was a dark night. The serfs had already packed away the equipment in the shed. There were two. One for imports and exports, the other for farming equipment. Within the import/export shed sat new, sharper equipment, as well as a few replacement weapons for the guards. One cannon also sat in there, in case of attack or to suppress rebellion. Lamplight slowly wandered around the plantation. The doors were locked, but we had prepared for it. We had prepared for this night for a long time. A ship would come into port to trade, drawing the guards away from their normal posts. They would gather around the shed, excluding me. With my small axe, I would whack the door handles when no one was around to let them all out. Then, take out a ranged guard when a chance came, steal his bow and arrows, and begin picking off random targets. They would all be drawn from that shed, probably still unlocked, and go off after me. They'd break in, take everything for weapons they could, and ambush the group going after me. Then we'd storm the plantation house and kill the owner.'

'So how did that go?' I asked sarcastically. I was interested, but it was obvious it worked to some degree. He got away alive.

'It went pretty well at first. I was dressed in my normal, brown leather attire to boost camouflage. The ship rolled into port on time, and almost every guard went over, as well as a few representatives from the ship. A tower stood in the middle of the plantation. I snuck between the fields and shacks quickly and quietly. Slowly creeping, I soon reached the foundation of the tower. The door opened with ease, and I closed it slowly behind me. Torches lit the spiral, stone staircase. I made my way up the tower and opened the hatch open slightly. The man was turned away, looking out over the trees. I pushed it open and slowly crawled out from under it. The door shut with a clack, and the man whipped around. 'Hey! What are you doing here?' He asked me. Without a word, the hatchet popped out and sent an immense gash down the middle of his face. I caught his corpse and pulled the axe along with the bow and arrows. I laid his limp body over the hatch and lifted the torch from its sconce. I lit my first arrow, as was part of the plan, and fired it towards the guards. That signaled the beginning. I could see their forms moving along the path.'

'The first flaming arrow struck the a guard in the back of the head. He dropped and the soldiers whipped around in time to see a second one. The arrow flashed by, striking the captain of the ship in the leg. He screamed out and the other representatives retreated with him to the boat. The guards started heading for the tower. They had all cleared into the fields as the serfs came up to the shed. Everything was moving according to plan. More arrows ripped through the air, striking each individual troop. They were nearing the tower when a loud _boom! _echoed through the air. Everything stopped dead. I knew something was wrong. The serfs, being not the brightest of people, accidently fired the cannon, giving our plan away. Most turned and went back for the shed, the last 5 rushed up the tower. I had to help them, but I had to kill the 5 after me first.

I heard their heavy footfalls swiftly reach the top of the tower. The heavy wooden door was hard enough to lift, if not further burdened with the corpse. It was lifted slightly, and I took the chance to swing my hatchet. I heard a yelp, followed by the cluttering of the corpse falling down the ladder. The other four forced the door open and started climbing. As the first crouched onto the stone, I dug the hatchet deep in his scalp. The other three finished climbing. One swung at me, but I ducked dug into his leg. As he fell, I lashed down on his exposed temple. One grabbed me from behind, and then another charged for my front. I kicked my legs up and into his face. As one stumbled back, I threw the other over me. He looked straight up at me, ready to charge. My axe flew across the tower, striking chest. He tumbled back and over the edge. I whipped an arrow out and dug it in the man's heart. He screamed and arched his back, then was still. I leapt over the edge, carefully grabbing onto loose bricks and ropes along the way. As I exited the field's, horror struck my eyes once more.

The field was laden with blacks and whites fighting the living hell out of each other. The field was littered with corpses, mostly of unarmed serfs. I looked across the scape to see if my love was among the dead, when I heard a yelp. Turning around, I saw she was on her knees, gripping her shoulder as blood dribbled between her fingers. Two men were standing over her. One held a whip tightly in his hands, the other had a recently invented musket. He was in the middle of reloading. She stood and tried to run, but the whip came out, grabbing tightly around her left calf. 'Bleed bitch!' The one with the whip called out. The man with the rifle lowered it directly at her head.

'After we kill her and quell the riot, we'll make sure we get a big promotion again.' The man with the musket called out. I drew another arrow tight and aimed carefully. I let it fly, with only a soft twang echoing in the night. It flew and caught the musket man's hand. He yelled and jerked to the right. His other hand, tightly gripped around the trigger, clenched in reaction. The gun echoed into the night. Smoke rose silently through the air. The ball tore deep into the other man's side. He dropped and began bleeding out. The other man lifted his bayonet up, ready to strike my love. Another arrow entered his ear, and he dropped. I went over to her and helped the whip off. We turned to the battle, but decided it best to leave instead. We would only die if we went there. Instead. We spent the night on the run.

I carried her several miles until we reached a docked ship at a nearby plantation. We asked for passage, and didn't ask where it was going. We paid a small fee, and climbed aboard. A doctor treated her and she healed up eventually. If anybody ever asked, I simply claimed she was my assistant. The ship was loaded with weapons, farm supplies, some horses and other livestock, along with rum and sugar. The ship was headed for France, full of war supplies for the French. We arrived on the front, and got separated immediately. I haven't seen her since. But if I do find her, our next plan is to flee east, into the Far East.'

'Sounds like you've been planning this for a while.' I said. Then I glanced down into the fields below us. Two, large, white men were leading a dark skinned girl through the fields. They were heading for a large wooden backboard that stood on some scaffolding. One had a whip in his hands. At first, I didn't take notice of something like that. Then, I realized how pretty she looked, except for a mark on her calf. Her left calf. It was a scar that looked like it wrapped around her leg. I nudged Odici and pointed down at her. 'Man, that's the girl that you talked about. Right down there.'

Odici looked down. 'It couldn't be her.'

'But it is. She has the scar, she's beautiful. Her skin's a deep caramel. That has to be her.' I said.

Odici pulled out his bow. 'Then let's go get her.'

I put my hands up to block him, saying, 'Whoa! You can't just go down there and kill them. You have to approach a situation like this with some class. I'll go down and try to buy her from them.' He shrugged, then finally nodded in agreement. I slowly crawled down the hill and amongst the fields. I stood back up, stepped between some fields, and approached the men. One was tying her wrists and ankles to keep her still, the other was priming his whip. I made my presence known first. Speaking in fluent French, it roughly translated to this. 'Gentlemen!' I said. 'That is quite a fine one you've got there.'

The one with the whip turned and exclaimed, 'Yeah, but she's a troublemaker, always riling up the other serfs and making a mockery of us. The only thing keeping her from the whip before was the owner's presence. He forbade whipping unless absolutely necessary.'

I cocked my head slightly to the right, asking, 'Shouldn't someone doing that fall into the necessary category?'

The one tying her said, 'You know what I think? I think she was 'enticing' the owner, and so he kept her from the whip in trade. But he's not here tonight, so she's getting what she deserves.'

'How about I buy her off your hands. You won't ever have to deal with her again.' The two looked at each other, halfway interested in such a deal.

The one tying finished, then stepped away from her struggling form. 'Don't I know you? I've seen you around here before, I know it.'

The man with the whip agreed. 'Yeah, you're that lieutenant from Rome. We aren't selling her to your kind. Now get before this whip's turned on you.'

I started to step back, nervously exclaiming, 'Surely we can come to an agreement of sorts.'

In response, he cracked the whip once, and only once. As he reached out to strike me, an arrow whisked through the air, over my head, and into the unsuspecting guard's throat. Sprinkles of blood misted across my face as the assailant dropped, gagging for air, only catching blood. The other started backing away, then turn to run. I lashed out and grabbed the whip. With a quick crack, it was wrapped around the man's throat. Blood dribbled as he reached a hand out. Eventually, he dropped to his knees, then slumped on the ground. I ripped the whip away as Odici came down through the plantation. With the whip coiled up, I placed it down on my hip proceeded to the girl.

Even though she was turned away from us, I could also see her body was physically trembling. She had heard everything. I stepped across the scaffolding and stopped a few feet from her. Odici stepped past me and whispered something into her ear. Immediately, her trembling ceased. Together, we untied her. When she turned around, her face was wet with tears. In very broken English, she managed to speak out, 'Thank you much. I…so…grateful.' She hugged Odici tightly and gave him a kiss on the lips, then came over and gave me a hug.

Odici came over to me. His eyes were full of tears of joy. 'Thank you so much for listening.' I nodded, and headed back into town. She stood between the two of us.

I turned to her and asked, 'So, what's your name?'

Again in heavily broken English, she said, 'Home name…Samira. Slave name…Sam.'

I gave her a curt nod. 'Pleasure to meet you Samira. My name is Ulfrid.' She gave me a kind smile, then continued facing forward. It would be a busy day tomorrow. Magnus was hired over to our side as of now. He have orders to march and capture two bases, which will result in two ports open for Jeremiah's forces, which would arrive in two days from now. Then, we'd move the line forward against Rouen, and capture it. When Jeremiah arrived, our forces would be bolstered by 5 more officers.

In the meantime, 1 was going to arrive on boat tomorrow with our forces. Another older person, this time a woman in her mid to late 30s. She would be above William and I, but below Jonathan. She commanded the next sect of soldiers that would arrive in the next few days. They would take up in the bases we just captured, and we'd take position in the bases to be captured. I would be advancing alongside William towards the base, while Magnus and Odici moved to capture the port. Jonathan would be holding the line with this new woman.

The fire within the city had gone out, and the people were asleep throughout the city. Odici, Samira, and I all went off into the cathedral within the heart of town. We found three empty pews and lied down to sleep through the night."

"April 16, 1429.

Sunlight poured through the ornate stain glass windows. I got up, head groggy from the late night before. When I asked Odici about what to do, Samira piped in. She had in her hands, what looked like a patch of grass. 'What is this?' I asked her.

She answered quickly, 'While at home, I was great Doctor. This help slowed head.' She held out the herbs to me. I lifted them up and looked at them skeptically. She nodded her head, assuring they'd work. Finally, I went ahead and took a bite from the leaf.

At first, I didn't feel any different, but as I made motion to tell her so, I immediately felt this great weight lifted from my head. As if I had just been slapped on the face in the middle of an ice cold shower, I snapped back to attention. I took a few steps outside and stretched out my arms. I walked over to the makeshift stables and led my horse out. Odici did the same. In the hazy distance, I could see Jonathan's horse and militia headed for us. We split up, calling names and units. Within minutes, the town was coming to life with the sound of metal clanging and horse hooves beating the dirt. We were to move out to Navarre while Jonathan and the new girl would lead defenses at the other two bases. The port was well guarded by British soldiers and the ships moving about in the waters.

Approximately 9,000 soldiers were now here in the field of war. 2,000 would go to each defensive force, each mercenary would lead 1,000, and William and I would split the remainder. My force of 1,300 marched out of town while the sun was still low in the sky. The new woman's army pulled up in Hermes and the four of us pulled up in Navarre. Another mercenary, whose name I can't place, sat in Navarre with the British troops. He was the defending force of Navarre. If it fell, we'd lose our lifeline.

Odici left his horse with Samira and led a crossbow unit with Magnus out towards the other port. William and I marched side by side with two columns of 1,300. William and I were maybe 10 meters feet apart. I turned to him saw how focused he was. I didn't want to disturb him, so I left him well alone. Hopefully, he'd cleaned up his act since yesterday. However, we were both stopped dead in our tracks when we came around the bend.

Three massive, grey creatures stood before us. Their noses were long and usable like an extra limb. Each one had a massive rug like tapestry draped over their back. Two had people sitting upon a saddle at least twice the size of that on a horse. The middle beast had a large, open topped box with a man leading it, and three men with assorted ranged equipment. We'd never seen anything like it.

A small gathering of British troops had been wandering through the wilderness and came out of the thick woods directly in front of the beasts. They each reared back on two legs, like a horse. Their feet pounded the ground, crushing numerous troops and unsettling the others. A fleet of arrows cut into the British troops. The war beasts charged, trampling the remaining troops. One survivor was trying to crawl away, but one hose like nose wrapped around his injured torso. The beast was clearly crushing him. His cries could be heard from at least a kilometer. The others came over. One around his left leg, the other around his right wrist. They were fighting each other for hold. His cries only grew louder as his limbs were tore from his body. The middle war beast raised the remains, then threw him on the ground. The soldier bounced off the ground, only to be impaled on the long, curved teeth protruding from its maw. Blood dribbled down the teeth and into it's mouth. The beast then shook its head, sending the chunks of a corpse several meters through the air

William and I were absolutely speechless. Finally, I turned to him and at almost whisper voice, I said, "The Devil himself has come to take us to his Infernal Pits."


End file.
